1. Field of Invention
The fundamental field of the invention relates to apparatus and methods of operation that substantially reduce the number of steps and the complexity to drill and complete oil and gas wells. Because of the extraordinary breadth of the fundamental field of the invention, there are many related separate fields of the invention.
Accordingly, the field of invention relates to apparatus that uses the steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. The field of invention further relates to methods of operation of apparatus that provides for the efficient installation of a cemented steel cased well during one single pass down into the earth of the steel drill string. The field of invention further relates to methods of operation of the apparatus that uses the typical mud pass ages already present in a typical drill bit, including any watercourses in a xe2x80x9cregular bitxe2x80x9d, or mud jets in a xe2x80x9cjet bitxe2x80x9d, that allow mud to circulate during typical drilling operations for the second independent, and the distinctly separate, purpose of passing cement into the annulus between the casing and the well while cementing the drill string into place during one single drilling pass into the earth. The field of invention further relates to apparatus and methods of operation that provides the pumping of cement down the drill string, through the mud passages in the drill bit, and into the annulus between the formation and the drill string for the purpose of cementing the drill string and the drill bit into place during one single drilling pass into the formation. The field of invention further relates to a one-way cement valve and related devices installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the formation. The field of invention further relates to the use of a slurry material instead of cement to complete wells during the one pass drilling of oil and gas wells, where the term xe2x80x9cslurry materialxe2x80x9d may be any one, or more, of at least the following substances: cement, gravel, water, xe2x80x9ccement clinkerxe2x80x9d, a xe2x80x9ccement and copolymer mixturexe2x80x9d, a xe2x80x9cblast furnace slag mixturexe2x80x9d, and/or any mixture thereof; or any known substance that flows under sufficient pressure. The field of invention further relates to the use of slurry materials for the following type of generic well completions: open-hole well completion; typical cemented well completions having perforated casings; gravel well completions having perforated casings; and for any other related well completions. The field of invention also relates to using slurry materials to complete extended reach wellbores and extended reach lateral wellbores from offshore platforms.
The field of the invention further relates to the use of retrievable instrumentation packages to perform LWD/MWD logging and directional drilling functions while the well is being drilled, which are particularly useful for the one pass drilling of oil and gas wells, and which are also useful for standard well completions, and which can also be retrieved by a wireline attached to a smart shuttle having retrieval apparatus. The field of the invention further relates to the use of smart shuttles having retrieval apparatus that are capable of deploying and installing into pipes smart completion devices that are used to automatically complete oil and gas wells after the pipes are disposed in the wellbore, which are useful for one pass drilling and for standard cased well completions, and these pipes include the following: a drill pipe, a drill string, a casing, a casing string, tubing, a liner, a liner string, a steel pipe, a metallic pipe, or any other pipe used for the completion of oil and gas wells. The field of the invention further relates to smart shuttles that use internal pump means to pump fluid from below the smart shuttle, to above it, to cause the smart shuttle to move within the pipe to conveniently install smart completion devices.
The field of invention disclosed herein also relates to using progressive cavity pumps and electrical submersible motors to make smart shuttles. The field of invention further relates to closed-loop systems used to complete oil and gas wells, where the term xe2x80x9cto complete a wellxe2x80x9d means xe2x80x9cto finish work on a well and bring it into productive statusxe2x80x9d. In this field of the invention, a closed-loop system to complete an oil and gas well is an automated system under computer control that executes a sequence of programmed steps, but those steps depend in part upon information obtained from at least one downhole sensor that is communicated to the surface to optimize and/or change the steps executed by the computer to complete the well. The field of invention further relates to a closed-loop system that executes the steps during at least one significant portion of the well completion process and the completed well is comprised of at least a borehole in a geological formation surrounding a pipe located within the borehole, and this pipe may be any one of the following: a metallic pipe; a casing string; a casing string with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a steel pipe; a drill string; a drill string possessing a drill bit that remains attached to the end of the drill string after completing the wellbore; a drill string with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a coiled tubing; a coiled tubing possessing a mud-motor drilling apparatus that remains attached to the coiled tubing after completing the wellbore; or a liner. Following the closed-loop well completion, the field of invention further relates to using well completion apparatus to monitor and/or control the production of hydrocarbons from the within wellbore. And finally, the field of invention relates to closed-loop systems to complete oil and gas wells are useful for the one pass drilling and completion of oil and gas wells.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At the time of the filing of the application herein, the applicant is unaware of any prior art that is particularly relevant to the invention other than that cited in the above defined xe2x80x9crelatedxe2x80x9d U.S. Patents, the xe2x80x9crelatedxe2x80x9d co-pending U.S. Patent Applications, and the xe2x80x9crelatedxe2x80x9d U.S. Disclosure Documents that are specified in the first paragraphs of this application.
In disclosure of related cases, apparatus and methods of operation of that apparatus are disclosed that allow for cementation of a drill string with attached drill bit into place during one single drilling pass into a geological formation. The process of drilling the well and installing the casing becomes one single process that saves installation time and reduces costs during oil and gas well completion procedures. Apparatus and methods of operation of the apparatus are disclosed that use the typical mud passages already present in a typical rotary drill bit, including any watercourses in a xe2x80x9cregular bitxe2x80x9d, or mud jets in a xe2x80x9cjet bitxe2x80x9d, for the second independent purpose of passing cement into the annulus between the casing and the well while cementing the drill string in place. This is a crucial step that allows a xe2x80x9cTypical Drilling Processxe2x80x9d involving some 14 steps to be compressed into the xe2x80x9cNew Drilling Processxe2x80x9d that involves only 7 separate steps as described in the Description of the Preferred Embodiments below. The New Drilling Process is now possible because of xe2x80x9cSeveral Recent Changes in the Industryxe2x80x9d also described in the Description of the Preferred Embodiments below. In addition, the New Drilling Process also requires new apparatus to properly allow the cement to cure under ambient hydrostatic conditions. That new apparatus includes a Latching Subassembly, a Latching Float Collar Valve Assembly, the Bottom Wiper Plug, and the Top Wiper Plug. Suitable methods of operation are disclosed for the use of the new apparatus. Methods are further disclosed wherein different types of slurry materials are used for well completion that include at least cement, gravel, water, a xe2x80x9ccement clinkerxe2x80x9d, and any xe2x80x9cblast furnace slag mixturexe2x80x9d. Methods are further disclosed using a slurry material to complete wells including at least the following: open-hole well completions; cemented well completions having a perforated casing; gravel well completions having perforated casings; extended reach wellbores; and extended reach lateral wellbores as typically completed from offshore drilling platforms.
In yet further disclosure in related cases involving the one pass drilling and completion of wellbores that is also useful for other well completion purposes, smart shuttles are used to complete the oil and gas wells. Following drilling operations into a geological formation, a steel pipe is disposed in the wellbore. The steel pipe may be a standard casing installed into the wellbore using typical industry practices. Alternatively, the steel pipe may be a drill string attached to a rotary drill bit that is to remain in the wellbore following completion during so-called xe2x80x9cone pass drilling operationsxe2x80x9d. Further, the steel pipe may be a drill pipe from which has been removed a retrievable or retractable drill bit. Or, the steel pipe may be a coiled tubing having a mud motor drilling apparatus at its end. Using typical procedures in the industry, the well is xe2x80x9ccompletedxe2x80x9d by placing into the steel pipe various standard completion devices, some of which are conveyed into place with the drilling rig. Here, instead, smart shuttles are used to convey into the steel pipe various smart completion devices used to complete the oil and gas well. The smart shuttles are then used to install various smart completion devices. And the smart shuttles may be used to retrieve from the wellbore various smart completion devices. Smart shuttles may be attached to a wireline, coiled tubing, or to a wireline installed within coiled tubing, and such applications are called xe2x80x9ctethered smart shuttlesxe2x80x9d. Smart shuttles may be robotically independent of the wireline, etc., provided that large amounts of power are not required for the completion device, and such devices are called xe2x80x9cuntethered shuttlesxe2x80x9d. The smart completion devices are used in some cases to machine portions of the steel pipe. Completion substances, such as cement, gravel, etc. are introduced into the steel pipe using smart wiper plugs and smart shuttles as required. Smart shuttles may be robotically and automatically controlled from the surface of the earth under computer control so that the completion of a particular oil and gas well proceeds automatically through a progression of steps. A wireline attached to a smart shuttle may be used to energize devices from the surface that consume large amounts of power. Pressure control at the surface is maintained by use of a suitable lubricator device that has been modified to have a smart shuttle chamber suitably accessible from the floor of the drilling rig. A particular smart shuttle of interest is a wireline conveyed smart shuttle that possesses an electrically operated internal pump that pumps fluid from below the shuttle to above the shuttle that causes the smart shuttle to pump itself down into the well. Suitable valves that open allow for the retrieval of the smart shuttle by pulling up on the wireline. Similar comments apply to coiled tubing conveyed smart shuttles. Using smart shuttles to complete oil and gas wells reduces amount of time the drilling rig is used for standard completion purposes. The smart shuttles therefore allow the use of the drilling rig for its basic purposexe2x80x94the drilling of oil and gas wells.
In disclosure herein, a closed-loop system is used to complete oil and gas wells. The term xe2x80x9cto complete a wellxe2x80x9d means xe2x80x9cto finish work on a well and bring it into productive statusxe2x80x9d. A closed-loop system to complete an oil and gas well is an automated system under computer control that executes a sequence of programmed steps, but those steps depend in part upon information obtained from at least one downhole sensor that is communicated to the surface to optimize and/or change the steps executed by the computer to complete the well. The closed-loop system executes the steps during at least one significant portion of the well completion process. A type of smart shuttle comprised of a progressive cavity pump and an electrical submersible motor is particularly useful for such closed-loop systems. The completed well is comprised of at least a borehole in a geological formation surrounding a pipe located within the borehole. The pipe may be a metallic pipe; a casing string; a casing string with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a steel pipe; a drill string; a drill string possessing a drill bit that remains attached to the end of the drill string after completing the wellbore; a drill string with any retrievable drill bit removed from the wellbore; a coiled tubing; a coiled tubing possessing a mud-motor drilling apparatus that remains attached to the coiled tubing after completing the wellbore; or a liner. Following the closed-loop well completion, apparatus monitoring the production of hydrocarbons from the within wellbore may be used to control the production of hydrocarbons from the wellbore. The closed-loop completion of oil and gas wells provides apparatus and methods of operation to substantially reduce the number of steps, the complexity, and the cost to complete oil and gas wells.
Accordingly, the closed-loop completion of oil and gas wells is a substantial improvement over present technology in the oil and gas industries.